David Oyelowo, who has recently appeared in Lincoln, has complained that the
class system in Britain compromises opportunities for actors.

Actor David Oyelowo has complained about the limitations of British acting after finding great opportunities in America. Oyelowo, who was born in Oxford to Nigerian parents and now lives in Los Angeles, said that British actors suffered from a class-based "glass-ceiling", which doesn't exist in Hollywood.

In an interview with the Radio Times, Oyelowo discussed the difference between the countries: "America has its own class system, but it's about money. The more money you have, the higher up the ladder you are.Here, you can have talent and money and still be deemed working class. That means there are certain glass ceilings."

Oyelowo played Danny Hunter in BBC MI5 drama Spooks between 2002 and 2004, but has since taken on film roles in The Last King of Scotland, The Help, a film about the civil rights movement in 1960s America, and the Oscar-nominated Lincoln. Oyelowo grew up on a North London council estate, and became an actor after winning a scholarship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. His first major role was as Henry VI for the Royal Shakespeare Company in 2001.

On his American roles, Oyelowo said, "There are all kinds of opportunities [in the US] - I can play civil rights activists, I can play fighter pilots, I can be in a film like Lincoln. But it's not just to do with being black."

It's also about the scope of the industry. Judi Dench has to go to America, Ralph Fiennes has to go to America, because it's the zenith of our industry. And it feels genuinely meritocratic."